The Nebraska wrestling program will send eight wrestlers to the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which are set to begin on Thursday in St. Louis. The Huskers qualified at eight weight classes for the first time since 2008 and hope to improve on back-to-back 12th-place finishes at the NCAA tournament in 2010 and 2011. The eight Husker wrestlers to qualify for the tournament include Ridge Kiley at 133 pounds, Jake Sueflohn at 141, James Green at 157, Robert Kokesh at 165, Tyler Koehn at 174, Josh Ihnen at 184, James Nakashima at 197 and heavyweight Tucker Lane. The tournament begins on Thursday morning.
Category: Local
Investigation Into Monday’s Venango Fire Ongoing
VENANGO, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a grass fire that blackened several acres of grass and brush stopped short of burning buildings in the southwest Nebraska town of Venango.
Venango Fire Chief Steve Tucker says the blaze was reported around 2 p.m. Monday. Tucker says it burned inside city limits but didn’t reach any homes or other buildings. No injuries were reported.
Firefighters from eight departments joined the battle. Estimates of the fire’s extent ranged up to 40 acres.
The fire cause is being investigated.
(PHOTOS) Car decides NOT to stop at Kwik Stop…
A car crashed through the front window of Kwik Stop at 4th and Poplar this afternoon.. According to a witness, the driver of the vehicle accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal and crashed through the front window of the store. There were no injuries involved.
Husker Women a Six Seed in NCAA Tournament; Play Kansas Sunday
The seventeenth-ranked Nebraska women’s basketball team will head to Little Rock, Arkansas for first-round action in the NCAA tournament as a six seed in the Des Moines Regional. The Huskers will take on an old conference foe in their first game on Sunday, as they’ll face eleventh-seeded Kansas. Should the Huskers beat the Jayhawks, they’d face the winner of the matchup between third-seed Delaware and fourteenth-seed Arkansas-Little Rock. The Huskers earned an at-large tournament bid after going 24-8 in the regular season, and are one of a Big Ten conference record seven teams to make the field of 64. It’s their first trip to the big dance since the 2009-2010 season, when they reached the Sweet 16, and their tenth overall appearance. Tipoff time for Sunday’s first-round game is scheduled for 6:30.
North Platte woman charged with Embezzlement from MPCC
On March 1, 2012, The North Platte Police Department was called to Mid Plains Community College on the report of embezzlement from the athletic fund. Mid Plains office staff members were made aware that numerous checks written to the college athletics fund had not been cashed or cleared bank accounts since 2010. An investigation revealed that Cynthea Danielle Russell (07/25/1974), Mid Plains Community College’s Purchasing and Accounts Receivable employee, was responsible for taking over $27,000 from over 45 different deposits since 2010. Russell was booked into the Lincoln County Detention Center for Theft by Unlawful Taking Class III Felony.
Russell has posted a $50,000.00 Bond
Ryan Purdy, Interim President said, “We confirm that Cynthea Russell, a purchasing and accounts receivable assistant has been released from her duties effective immediately and the investigation is continuing. The investigation involves only athletic fundraising, concessions and athletic events,” said Mr. Purdy.
North Platte To Host Governor’s Conference on Rural Development
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – Small towns across Nebraska will be able to learn more about strategies they can use to strengthen their communities at a conference in North Platte next month. The governor’s conference on rural development will be held on April 18. The daylong event will focus on how small communities can boost economic development. Before April, registration costs $50 per person. After that registration costs $75. More details are available online at www.serve.nebraska.gov .
Enjoy the gorgeous weather, but don’t start any fires…
Today: Sunny, with a high near 66. Southwest wind between 8 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 25. South southwest wind around 11 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 66. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 11 to 14 mph increasing to between 21 and 24 mph. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Breezy, with a south wind 17 to 20 mph decreasing to between 9 and 12 mph. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 62. South wind between 9 and 13 mph.
It’s DST again… Spring forward.. Fall Back…
Don’t forget to spring ahead this weekend, as in set the clocks ahead. Daylight Savings Time begins early Sunday morning, and in case you’re still confused, moving the clocks ahead an hour means you lose an hour of sleep. It also means the sun rises an hour later and also sets an hour later. So, many of us will now find it dark outside when we wake up in the morning, but we’ll get to go home from work in the daylight. So there are pros and cons to springing our clocks ahead.
- Which do you prefer, more daylight in the morning or more in the evening?
- Do you feel like you really do lose an hour of sleep?
- Do you do anything to prepare yourself for changing the clocks, li
ke go to bed an hour earlier?
Post your comments below…
North Platte Drug Dealers Sentenced in Fed Court
Story Courtesy John P. Tretbar
Two high profile drug busts in our area resulted in federal prison terms for two defendants from North Platte.
On March 1, Brian Craig Devino, 36, was sentenced to 20-years in prison for distributing methamphetamine which resulted in the overdose death of Stacey Gonzalez in February of 2011.
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg says Gonzalez was found dead in her North Platte home by a family member on February 23, 2011. A small amount of methamphetamine was found in Gonzalez’s bedroom by investigators from the North Platte Police Department. Devino and Gonzalez had gone out for drinks and then returned to Gonzalez’s residence with take-out food on the evening of February 22, 2011. Devino admitted to officers that he had provided Gonzalez with a small amount of methamphetamine before leaving her residence.
Devino’s charge carried a mandatory minimum prison term of 20 years due to the fact that the use of the methamphetamine resulted in a death. Following the prison term, Devino will serve four years on supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Platte Police Department.
Another convicted drug dealer from North Platte was sentenced March 6 to nearly five years in federal prison. Gilg says Lisa Ann Rosenberg, 27, was arrested and charged last year, after selling more than 51 grams of cocaine base to a confidential informant on June 14, 2011. A co-defendant from Colorado, Megan Miller, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and will be sentenced April 4th.
That case was investigated by the CODE Task Force which is made up of law enforcement agencies throughout a 22-county area in west-central/southwest Nebraska and includes the North Platte Police Department, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Red Willow County Sheriff’s Office, Frontier County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Seriously….this is not March…70s return next week…
Today: Sunny, with a high near 53. North northwest wind between 9 and 11 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 18. Northwest wind between 6 and 9 mph becoming calm.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 62. Calm wind becoming south southwest between 15 and 18 mph. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26. South southwest wind between 7 and 14 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 61. Breezy, with a south wind 7 to 10 mph increasing to between 17 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.